MSV-2035 Astronomy Document - Inside Design - FINAL - FINAL

Astronomy & Astrophysics 24 (b) identification of the processes that accelerate the solar wind, (c) impact of solar activity on Earth's atmosphere and (d) space weather predictions using solar observations and data drivenmodels. 2.12 Solar SystemObjects The study of planetary atmospheres is an extremely important aspect of the study of solar system objects. These include the study of the composition and structure of the atmospheres. Of particular interest are (a) study of the composition for bio-signatures, (b) study of changes in the planetary atmospheres over various timescales of minutes to years. Comets and asteroids provide vital clues to the formation, evolution and the dynamic environment of our solar system. Observations of these objects help in constraining the dynamical, collisional, thermal and compositional evolution andmixing in our solar system. Such studies provide themuch-needed comparison for exoplanetary systems. It is predicted that there are several interstellar objects of extra-solar origin that pass the Earth's orbit. The first such object was discovered in 2017 and named 'Oumuamua'.Acomet of interstellar origin, 2I/Borisov, was the second such object discovered in 2019. It is of great interest to understand the trajectory of such objects that will enable tracing their origin.Also of interest is the composition andmorphology of these objects. Near-Earth Objects, or NEOs, are asteroids and comets that pass close to the Earth, within 0.3AU of the Earth's orbit. These objects present potential threats to our planet. It is of immense importance to survey the sky for the detection of such potentially hazardous objects and determine their trajectory and orbit. Characterisation of the colour, spectrum, light curve and rotation of these objects will enable determining their origin. MEGA SCIENCE VISION-2035